mcts121

Does any one know of a good brewer or where I can get a deal on a good Pod Brewer.


Thanks

sniderock

i'll say it since no one else has yet. PLEASE INCLUDE QUESTION MARKS IN YOUR POST!!

Stormfront13

I have a Senseo and I dig it. They did have a 20 dollar rebate on their site in December but I am not certain if it is still being offered or not.

exm

Another vote for the Senseo... Order it on Amazon and use the rebate - if it's still there...

joeblow69

I was just at Target yesterday, and their Pod machines and coffee were 50% off. I think the brewer was down to $29.99. Not sure what brand it was, though.

clappj

For what it's worth, those are Juan Valdez brand.

mcts121

does any of them make a large cup of coffee

Stormfront13

Senseo makes either a 4oz or 8oz cup of coffee.

clappj

The one from Target does also. Makes a pretty decent cup of joe!

leland

I picked up a Mallita (sp?) brand pod brewer from Bartell Drugs for $10.50. It makes a 5 or 8 oz cup. I tried it and it actually tasted pretty good. It took a little longer than advertised though (had to wait for the water to heat up THEN push the button to get the coffee brewing...

I don't know why the brewer was marked down. It may have been considered a holiday item.

griz

If anyone is interested, Target again has the JV brand Pod Brewer for $29 (reg. $59.99). This is good thru Saturday, I believe. I signed up for the free coffee pods long ago, but never got the pod brewer until now. Trying my first cup now...it seems okay (and much easier than brewing a whole or half pot and dumping a bunch out).

Even though the JV brewer uses the smaller pods, I used one of my free Maxwell House pods (made for Senseo...the bigger pods) just fine. I just made sure the pod was completely smushed into the pod holder.

FrozenMetalHead

I read a few reviews on these types of brewers that said it took a decent amount of time to actually set up the machine each time to brew a cup. Is this true? I'd like to get one of these, as I'm the only one in the house that drinks coffee.

fujishig

So are these pods here to stay? I was hesitant about getting one on clearance at Target because my fear is, in a year or so they won't be making them anymore, and I'll have a worthless appliance...

Jeraden

I have a melitta one, any place you can get cheap replacement pods instead of the melitta brand ones?

griz

It takes like a minute or so to heat up the water and maybe another minute or so to spit out the coffee. I haven't actually timed it, but it seems to be a couple minutes total. Not that bad for me. What kind of stinks though, at least on the JV brand, is that you turn on the power, then wait for the water to heat, then you push the brew button.

photo_guy

I recently got a Keurig system and it is great. Very easy to use. Almost zero set-up and clean-up for each use. They are more expensive, however.

drmoze

Is the Keurig the one with those plastic cups? Those su... um, they really are not good at all. The coffee is lousy, and the amount of storage space required for those dumb cups is ridiculous. And the price.... We added those machines to our workplace, ordering different varietiess all the time, and every single one I tried gave a stale, weak cup of "coffee." From 3 different machines. (Thank goodness we kept the commercial drip pots and 'bucks and green mountain coffee!)

Keurig - NOT recommended! (for anyone who likes coffee)

As for the pods, it is easy to use your favorite coffee in them. I believe I posted how in another thread here a while back, but basically all you gotta do is put a 3" or 3.5" paper basket filter onto the pod holder, add the right amount of coffee onto the middle, then fold the sides over the top. Work the coffee around a bit with your thumbs to even it out (don't press down hard) and it will work like a charm. After 1 or 2 tries, you'll know exactly how much coffee to add to form a 'pod' of the right size.

And the pod machines make really nice coffee.

norm949

That is certainly a valid concern. Although I don't have one (I missed the deals and can't bring myself to pay full price for the Senseo) you can get reusable pods so you aren't stuck with the proprietary ones. There is supposedly an increased chance of vapor lock (have to wait till vacuum dissipates in order to open the unit), and it kind of defeats the purpose of simple brewing, but then again you can use whatever coffee suits your taste, and you can use fresh. Check here. If you'd rather make your own, check here.

drmoze

Your second link is prettty much what I described above. But you don't need the measuring cup or jar. Just form the pod using filter paper right in the pod holder. It doesn't have to be 'compacted' and works great every time.

photo_guy

Drmoze - Well, I certainly can't argue with *your* impression of the Keurig in your office. Our experience is different.
Yes, the cups take up some more space but if you are not going through a huge amount of coffee this is a very minor issue. In your case of an office application it may be more of a concern.

If you like the Green Mountain coffee (I do as well) did you try the GMCR K-cups? It sounds like you are a 'strong coffee' guy and that may be an issue unless you find exactly the right type.

Personally I am not a "fanatic" about my coffee but a good friend of mine is. He *loves* his Keurig. All his coffee comes from GMCR and he has no complaints. Of course, he also makes pots of coffee as well as single use as needed.

On a side note - We had been looking for one of thoose in-sink "instant hot" dispensers that we could use for coffee, tea, and other use when really hot water is needed. The cost of thoose gets to be pretty high. Plus you typically want to have that water filtered which adds to the expense. We decided that the Keurig (or other brand) would serve that purpose fine without the added expense or a permanant installation. I use the K-cups to make coffee and my wife uses it empty as a hot water dispenser for her special teas, etc. (You can get tea in K-cups but not what we like).

Just some more input for those in similar situations.

drmoze

Well, I admit I did *want* to like the Keurig. We have lots of brands at work (about 10-12) plus 3-4 teas. The teas are pretty good--no complaints there. I did try most of the coffees, incl. Green Mountain (did not try the hazlenut or decaf tho--not a fan!). And none of them, alas, tasted 'rich' or 'full' (which doesn't necessarily have to be 'strong'). Every type I tried tasted 'thin' and a bit weak/stale, even when I reduced the amount of water by hitting the start button a second time. I imagine with the quantity the office goes thru, that our supply would be fresh. (Shipments come in at least twice weekly.)

Objectively, a lot of other people in the office do use and like it, even with regular (and better-than-typical-office-quality!) coffee nearby. Even if the 'variety' is factored out, a lot of people like the Keurig coffee and choose to drink it.

So, I guess I would have to suggest that anyone considering this system should try it first. (Pretty mundane general advice!)

I tried the pod machines first and really like that coffee, both the Douwe-Egberts coffee and the homemade ones. Yet a friend of mine who also likes coffee does not like the pod system's product. Go figure...

I still maintain that everyone should have the same tastes and preferences as I do! $^)

photo_guy

Thanks - Very fair follow-up to your first post.

Which Keurig system do you have? I have the B100 and there may be a difference there. Also, do you use filtered water with the Keurig and/or with your standard 'pot' method? There could be a difference there as well.

After your post I did some more surfing and found an interesting website (Single Serve Coffee.com ) that did a review of the Keurig B100 and includes some comaprisions to Senseo. Some of your observations regarding storage space, size, cost were mentioned here. They also noted differences in the coffee brands and suggest Van Houtte Dark Roast might be more to your liking than GMCR. (Have you tried that one?) They also had good things to say about "Green Mountain's Extra Bold Sumatran Reserve K-Cups" in another review.


My favorite part of the review described the sound made by the B100 during the despense cycle as "A muffled duck somehow trapped inside the coffee maker is making a cry for help"



Agreed!

drmoze

Our Keurigs are commercial units. They're big square things, with a side hot-water tap, and the cups are dumped into an internal container after use. There's an in-line filter on each. The commercial drip makers are the basket types where you pour water in the top (we use filtered water from a tap filter).

Tried one dark raost, forget which brand, still tasted 'thin.' Don't think I've had the Sumatra. And I've heard the duck!